Metal-ceramic composites have been expected as materials allowing the achievement of the enhancement of mechanical and thermal properties that cannot be obtained independently by metal and ceramic. Such composites can be applied, for example, as an abrasion-resistant material for a piston component of a vehicle and a heat-dissipating material for a heatsink or the like.
As the ceramic composing the metal-ceramic composite, a porous ceramic structure made by forming ceramic powders or ceramic fibers and further firing the resulting structure when necessary is used. Such a structure is arranged in the space within a desired mold, and by pouring molten metal into the space, the porous ceramic structure is impregnated with the metal. Then, the resulting structure is solidified, so that the metal-ceramic composite is made.
As the method for the impregnation with the molten metal, there are known various methods, as exemplified by methods based on powder metallurgy, methods by pressure casting, such as, for example, a die casting method (Patent Literature 1) and a squeeze casting method (Non Patent Literature 1), and methods by spontaneous penetration (Patent Literature 2).
Patent Literature 1: National Publication of International Patent Application No. 1993-508350
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-197368
Non Patent Literature 1: Yoshinori Nishida, “Development of Research of Composite Material Production by Pressure Impregnation”, Materia Japan, The Japan Institute of Metals and Materials, on Jan. 1, 1997, Vol. 36, No. 1, pages 40-46